


I Just Wanna Keep on Waiting, Underneath the Mistletoe

by agoodpersonrose



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Mistletoe, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Schitt's Creek: Frozen Over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodpersonrose/pseuds/agoodpersonrose
Summary: It's Christmastime in Schitt's Creek, and Patrick isdeterminedto finally make his move with David. He is certain his most recent plan of hanging mistletoe around the town will work, or at least, he was, but it seems David manages to get trapped underneath the plant with everyone except him.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 32
Kudos: 198
Collections: Schitt's Creek: Frozen Over (2020)





	I Just Wanna Keep on Waiting, Underneath the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SCFrozenOver2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCFrozenOver2020) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Someone keeps hanging mistletoe around town and people keep kissing him but it's never the person he wants it to be.

The plan couldn’t possibly go wrong.

Patrick should know, he had narrowed it down to the finest details. 

He and David have been circling each other for months now, and Patrick knows, he just _knows_ that there is something there. Something that might have developed into more than something had either of them been brave enough to act on it any of the various occasions they had found themselves silently staring at each other, eyes wandering down towards lips, heads moving forward as if to--

But they were always interrupted. Every single time it happened.

The lights flickered.

Someone came out of the motel.

A customer arrived at the store.

David’s phone rang, (Stevie, he was late for an arrangement to get high together).

Patrick’s phone rang, (it was Rachel, and instead of kissing his business partner they instead had a deep and emotional conversation about failed past relationships which, while satisfying, was not perhaps as enjoyable as the snogging may have been.)

So finally, as the last week before holiday season quickly approaches the town of Schitt’s Creek, Patrick has been forced into the impossible position of having to come up with a plan of action to finally get him and David to kiss.

The plan goes as follows: he intends on making sure every doorway and crevice that David and Patrick commonly pass through together is decked with mistletoe.

Patrick has made a list of all these places and has an action plan in place to make sure the green and white flora will be hung with plenty of time to grab a romantic and emotional kiss underneath before Christmas. With some declarations of mutual affection and a chance to finally find out what David’s lips feel like against his, Patrick is confident that everything will go to plan.

Filling the store with mistletoe had been easy enough, consisting only of a half hour on a ladder during a quiet morning before David arrived, Patrick moved a ladder round all the most likely spots and nailed the plants up himself. 

The motel had been slightly trickier. He had to deal with a lot of embarrassingly knowing looks from Stevie when he had suggested the decorations over the motel rooms, but in the end, she had given in and nailed them up herself.

The café is the most awkward. He tries to be nonchalant in questioning Twyla about decorations, but he fears it hasn’t worked out as planned.

“Hey Twyla?” he asks that morning at the counter. “Have you thought of maybe adding some more decorations in here?”

“All the decorations are already up,” Twyla says, waving around to the brightly decorated room, covered in gaudy lights and tinsel on almost every surface. “Why? Do you think it’s missing something?”

“Well,” Patrick says, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the conversation. “We- I mean, me and David. The store, we got a shipment of mistletoe in for decorations, but we ended up getting a _lot_ more than we had been anticipating. Honestly, there is probably enough there to cover the whole of the store’s ceiling, which probably wouldn’t be good for business. So, I- We were just wondering if you might want some. To hang up in here.”

Before Twyla can respond, there is a scoff from along the counter, and Patrick turns to find Ronnie, her face buried in her coffee cup as she snorts derisively at him.

“Mistletoe? Sounds like a workplace sexual assault complaint form ready to fill itself in.”

“It’s festive!” Patrick tries to exclaim, but she just nods patronisingly. “My parents always had them up at their house over the holiday’s!”

“It’s unnecessary. If you want to kiss somebody so badly then why don’t you just kiss them? Why wait for the holiday?”

Patrick chews on his bottom lip as Ronnie, assumingly unknowingly, rips into the reasons for his enthusiasm with a machete.

“I think it’s romantic,” Twyla offers an olive branch in response. “Especially if two people have been dancing around each other for a long time, always missing the right opportunity. What better way of finally getting your feelings out there, you know?”

Patrick’s face is hot, and he just knows he’s gone red from their comments.

“Well, it’s not a big deal I- I was just gonna offer you some of our leftovers.”

Twyla nods at him cheerily as she wipes down the counters. “That sounds great thanks, Patrick!” she says decisively, ignoring Ronnie’s continued sounds of distaste. “I’ll come and pick some up after my shift tonight, how about that?”

Patrick nods mutely and makes to leave, regretting the whole ridiculous idea in the first place. When he returns to the store, the sight of the mistletoe he had spent all morning hanging mocks him, and he grinds his teeth, heading round the back to get the ladder and quickly take it all down before David can get to the store and see it.

Before he gets the opportunity, he walks through to the back room to find David already pulling boxes off shelves, ready for the big holiday restocking.

“Hey, I was wondering where you had gotten to,” David says smiling, as he looks up at Patrick and passes him a box full of ‘Candy Cane scented candles’. “Did you put all the mistletoe up in here? I don’t remember putting it on my pre-approved list of festive decorations.”

“Oh, I was just-- café.”

David frowns at this, but his smile doesn’t really fall, and he turns to look at Patrick with a raised brow. “You were just café?”

“I was- at, the café.”

“Did you get me anything?”

It’s then that Patrick realises that in his desperation to get out of the café, and away from Ronnie and Twyla’s too-close-to-home comments, he had completely forgotten to actually order anything.

“I- No, sorry. I forgot to get anything.”

David puts on a pout which draws attention to his pink bottom lip, distracting Patrick for a moment, but he is brought back as David waves a hand around as if to say, ‘forget about it’. “That’s fine, I’ll just pop across the street in half an hour or so.”

“When you do can you get me a tea?”

David looks confused but shrugs and nods. “Sure. Well, I will if I remember.”

Patrick hums as they make their way out to the front of the store laden in boxes.

“You can’t evade the question,” David says as they do so. “Look at it, it’s everywhere!”

“It came in a shipment from Mr Hockley’s farm,” Patrick says, hoping against hope that his face isn’t as flushed as it feels. “I thought it was rude not to put it up, I’ve offered it around elsewhere as well.”

“Why did he send us so much?” David muses. “Maybe I should go and look at the order forms.”

“Oh no,” Patrick intercepts. “You don’t have to do that, really. It was my fault. I accidentally added a zero where I didn’t mean to, I’ve already spoken to him and he has reduced the price as far as he’s willing to.”

“You added a zero to what number?”

“Five?” Patrick mumbles awkwardly.

“You ordered fifty sprigs of mistletoe?” David exclaims with wide eyes. He waves an arm around and Patrick watches carefully to make sure he doesn’t knock any candles off the side in his fervour. “Is this your way of informing me that you want to open up a brothel?”

“Mm, no,” Patrick replies, thankful to have found his feet again. “I thought it would be better to do that through a flower arrangement. Very tasteful, all red roses, they’ll be arriving early next week.”

“Cute,” David says, turning up his nose but smiling, nonetheless. “You’d better be taking the bullet for me if anyone tries to kiss me though,” he sticks out a finger threateningly. “I am not kissing Roland I swear to God.”

“Just Roland?”

“I’ll make a list of all the townspeople I am not willing to lock lips with,” David says distractedly, looking confusedly between two candles. “Expect it to be _extensive._ You’ll have to devote many an hour to memorising it.”

Patrick barks out a forced laugh and nods, trying to get his shoulders to drop their tension as the realisation sets in that maybe he should have thought about this a while longer before enacting his plan. 

David’s soft humming fills the air and creating a warm, settled environment. Patrick lets himself glance across at David more often than he usually would and watches his shoulders shimmy in time to the light jazz music still ringing through the speakers.

“Huh. It sure is looking _festive_ in here,” Stevie says as she enters a little while later. She makes a dramatic look around the store with raised eyebrows, giving pointed looks at the various scattered bunches of mistletoe hung in all the potential spots.

“We over-ordered on them. Well, I didn’t--” David says with a nod, holding a candle in one hand and gesturing towards Patrick.

“So what? They sent you a whole tree’s worth?”

“Have you just come here to criticise the design of our store?”

“No,” Stevie grumbles, poking one of the stick trees by the front window with a finger and watching it wobble. “Maybe.”

David sighs as if frustrated but there is a clear undertone of fondness as he rubs his forehead. “Well, I was just going to go to the café to get a drink, if you’d like to accompany me and bother me there, somewhere away from the paying customers.”

“What paying customers?” Stevie asks, gesturing around at the empty store with forced concern.

“And just for that, you will be paying,” David says in response. Patrick almost jumps out of his skin when David reaches out and squeezes lightly on his bicep as he passes on the way to the door. “Did you want anything other than the tea?”

“Um, no, I think, tea should be fine thanks,” Patrick croaks out.

David nods and moves to exit the store after Stevie, who is lingering in the doorway. Patrick catches eyes with her and immediately realises what she’s doing as she hesitates and forces David to come to a stop in front of her.

“Oh no, David,” she says, in the most forced tone imaginable as she nods up at the small sprig of mistletoe hanging from the bell. “Looks like your seasonal decorations have worked their magic, huh?”

David seems confused for a moment, following her gaze up to the ceiling. This time, his sigh sounds genuinely annoyed, but he leans down and presses a pecking kiss to Stevie’s forehead, his face wrinkled up all the while.

“Nuh-uh,” she says as he pulls away. “Now I have to give you _my_ kiss.”

In the last second before she leans in, she turns to look at Patrick who is glaring at her with fiery eyes. She seems to be heading straight for David’s lips but at the last second reaches up and turns his head to plant a loud, wet kiss to his cheek.

“Ew!” David exclaims, rubbing at his cheek with disgust. “Who trained you?”

“In the art of seduction? I needed no teaching,” she replies. They head out of the store together, leaving Patrick stood frozen in the centre on the floor.

He reckons by the end of the week he’ll be sorely regretting his decision.

***

There are fortunately enough no more run ins with the mistletoe for the rest of the day, minus an awkward interaction with the postman. Upon spotting the plant, he had ducked down and kissed Patrick’s hands with a cheery wink and promised to send his wife in to collect the new seasonal stock all in the same breath, leaving Patrick blushing on the doorstep.

Other than this, Patrick had spent the entirety of the day, ensconced behind the counter, watching many a happy couple point out the mistletoe to each other, pecking each other teasingly in response, and going on in their lovey-dovey ways.

David doesn’t seem to notice his bad mood, or at least, not until Patrick snaps a pencil in half in response to a close call between David and a very attractive customer which David avoids by stepping quickly away.

Small miracles.

After a few days of nothing, Patrick resolves to be more successful. He heads to the motel early on the Wednesday morning to pick David up, and clambers out of the car before David can make his usual trip straight out the door and into the passenger seat.

Patrick knocks on room seven, and spends a few minutes scuffing his toe a few steps away from the door while he waits for it to open.

“Hi button!” Alexis exclaims when the door finally swings open. Patrick takes what he hopes is a discreet step away from the door and grins at David’s sister politely.

“Hi, Alexis. Is David there? We’re running a little late.”

“Mhm, wouldn’t want you missing the morning rush! David is in the bathroom.”

She ushers Patrick in, stepping back as she does so and giving him plenty of room to enter without a kiss. She smirks knowingly as he automatically takes a seat at the end of David’s bed, his hands clasped in front of him as he waits.

“So, have you seen all the mistletoe around town at the moment?” Alexis asks innocently, in lieu of conversation, pushing up her hair in the mirror all the while as Patrick hums non-committedly. “It’s the cutest thing, I wonder who put it all up. Ted has been pushing me under it at every opportunity, the sweet thing--”

Alexis continues to prattle on, but Patrick’s attention is drawn away from her as the bathroom door swings open and David steps out. He has a small tub of lip balm in his hands and is slowly rubbing it across his bottom lip. Patrick’s own mouth drops open in surprise as he catches David’s eye, the act somehow lustful and innocent all at once.

“-- I also saw Ray and Ronnie get stuck under it at the café just the other day, poor Ronnie did _not_ look impressed. She’s going to be on the warpath to find whoever put it all up.”

Still too zoned out to really answer, Patrick just nods mutely as David grabs his bag from the side. “Sorry I’m late, you ready to go?”

“Um- I, yeah? Sure-- Hi.” Patrick manages to stutter out, standing from the bed and wiping his damp hands on the front of his jeans.

David reaches the door before him, opening it swiftly and almost barrelling straight into Ted who is stood with his fist up, ready to knock in front of him.

“Oh--”

“David!” Ted exclaims, full of enthusiasm as always. “That was a close one! Almost stepped on your mistle- _toe_ there.”

David forces out an unamused laugh, shaking his head all the while in an almost manic way.

“Oh my God,” Patrick hears Alexis mutter next to him, but he’s frozen where he is stood, unable to put a stop to the scene playing out in front of him.

“Come on then, _bud,_ come here.”

“Oh, we don’t have to do that--” David tries.

“Aw, come on, it’s bad luck otherwise!”

David shrugs lightly and barely reacts as Ted cups his face in both hands and presses the swiftest of kisses to his lips. Patrick’s mouth drops open again in annoyance and just a little bit of jealousy, and he is faintly aware of Alexis tapping him urgently on the arm closest to her.

Patrick watches David discreetly wipe his mouth on the back of his hand as he passes Ted in the doorway. Halfway to the car, he seems to realise he’s alone, and turns around to petulantly stomp his foot at Patrick.

“Are you coming?” he asks, voice high pitched and annoyed.

Patrick jets back to life, car keys jangling as he hurries after David.

***

Patrick isn’t taking any more chances; he decides by the Friday, the last day the store is open before the holiday break.

He’s not taking any more chances, by which he means that he is going to follow David around and make sure that he doesn’t step under any mistletoe without Patrick being there to catch him.

David doesn’t seem to have noticed.

Well.

He doesn’t seem to have noticed the reason _why_ Patrick has been following him around like a well-trained retriever, but the movement of his well-endowed eyebrows sure suggests he’s noticed the behaviour.

“I’m gonna pop to the café, do you want anything?” David asks just as the afternoon rush has died down.

Patrick jumps up from his perch at the desk in the back room, nodding and already reaching for his coat.

“I’ll come with you!” he says hurriedly, for the third time that day.

David takes it in his stride this time and just shrugs, leading the way out of the shop with the _Back in 5 minutes!_ sign swinging behind them.

They hurry through the light dusting of snow that had settled overnight and bustle towards the café. Patrick tries to catch up with David but finds himself a few steps behind as they approach the door.

It’s already swinging open when David gets to it, and a tall, fit man holds it open for them.

“David, it’s been a while, it’s good to see you,” the man says. Despite the freezing Canada weather, he’s only wearing a thin denim jacket, which Patrick is distracted by as he watches him lean down and greet David with a kiss to the lips.

“Um, what--” Patrick begins to ask, looking between them with urgent confusion. He didn’t realise David was dating someone, David never mentioned anything, and David mentions everything from his sister’s extensions to what he dreamt of the night before.

“Mistletoe,” the stranger says, pointing up to the dreaded plant above their heads. “Hey, if you take a few more steps forward we could make this a party.”

Patrick nudges back slightly, and the man seems to notice as he just shrugs and smiles.

“Jake--” David starts warningly. Patrick turns to get a better look at him, and it seems the kiss had rendered him speechless. He is flushed and looks embarrassed as he looks between Jake and Patrick with narrowed eyes.

“You know, I’m glad we ran into each other actually,” Jake continues as if he hadn’t heard David’s firm tone. “I was thinking about you just the other night actually, perhaps we can reconnect sometime?”

Patrick’s mouth drops open at the pure, cocksure expression on the man’s face.

“Mm, don’t think that’ll be happening.”

David’s tone is rude, but Jake doesn’t seem phased, and just shrugs again. “Hey, you let me know if you change your mind. I’ve gotta get back to the shop, but I’ll see you around?”

Jake winks at Patrick as he heads down the rest of the steps.

“I’ll be seeing _you_ around I hope,” Jake says.

“Oh, um, bye, man--” Patrick manages to stutter out, rolling his eyes as David smirks.

“Come on, _man,_ ” he says, shouldering through the café door. “I need my coffee.”

“Alright, alright.”

They stand by the counter as they wait for their drinks, David murmuring about stock numbers, his fingers twitching in the way they do when he’s stressed.

Patrick just listens along, nodding, and intervening with supportive comments as he watches David get more and more riled up.

The tension in his shoulders only increases with the arrival of Jocelyn from behind.

“Hello, boys!” she says cheerily as she comes to perch beside David, who pulls a fake smile in response. “Don’t you two look all bunded up and cozy!”

“Mm, yes, well, we’re just getting out drinks and then going back to the store, so--” David starts, but is cut off almost immediately by the blonde woman.

“I just thought I’d ask for a little favour.”

Both David and Patrick make mirrored expressions of horror as she pulls a hand out from behind her back and dangles a small, straggled piece of mistletoe in the air.

“What are you doing with _that,_ Jocelyn?” David asks, eyeing it like a deadly weapon.

“We’re having a little _competition_ in the teachers’ lounge to drum up support for the school nativity. All the teachers have to go around and collect mistle-kisses--”

Patrick can hear David mutter under his breath, “Creative,” and tries to hide his laugh.

“Whoever collects the most will get to choose a charity for the money to go to.”

“What’s your charity, Jocelyn?” Patrick asks, trying to buy time while drumming his fingers on the counter and praying for Twyla to turn up with their drinks.

“It’s a charity for dogs with cleft palates.”

“Mhm, sounds like you’re getting scammed,” David says with a sympathetic nod of the head. “Well, best of luck!”

His dismissal doesn’t hit, as she continues to buzz around in excitement next to him. David tries to ignore her best he can but finally sighs and turns back around on his chair.

“Oh my God, _fine,”_ he exclaims, leaning in quick as anything and kissing the air next to her cheek.

“Patrick?” Jocelyn says, turning to him.

“Oh my God,” David mutters again moodily, as Patrick gives in and follows his lead, kissing the air next to Jocelyn’s cheek with immediacy.

“Thanks boys! I knew I could rely on you. I’ll come and collect your donation from the store tomorrow!”

With that, she’s gone.

“Donations? Jocelyn, _what donations?”_ David calls after her, but she has her back turned and has moved on to her next target; Ronnie, who looks less than impressed as she sips her coffee but does lean in and kiss Jocelyn straight on the lips with a determined expression after only a minute of pleading.

“Let it go, David. Come on, we should go back to the store.”

For the first time all week, Patrick makes no effort to hesitate in any doorways, or linger near the hanging plants. He leads the way back to Rose Apothecary in a huff, David more reservedly lagging behind him and shooting concerned looks at him all the while.

The low hum of the Christmas music Patrick had finally convinced David to play on the speakers is almost mournful now. There is no afternoon rush, and the pair are alone for most of the day, a sullen atmosphere falling on their little store even as thick clusters of snowflakes lay a blanket on the ground outside.

“Are you still going home for the holidays?” David asks as they start the closing chores. He is sweeping while Patrick counts the register, and Patrick pauses to watch his slow movements around the room.

“Um, no, I cancelled actually.”

“Why?”

Patrick shrugs, aiming for nonchalant, but landing somewhere closer to embarrassed. “I don’t feel like I have a lot to celebrate this year,” he says truthfully, before blushing and continuing. “Anyway, it’s a long journey which I don’t want to drive, and I haven’t seen a lot of the family in a while, so--”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to go?”

Patrick pulls a shrugging expression. “It’s not a big deal. Ray’s sister and her husband are visiting, so I won’t be alone.”

“Well, as fun as that sounds, you’ll let me know if you get tired of Ray’s incessant cheer. My family aren’t celebrating this year, so Stevie and I were gonna do something, you’re welcome to join us?”

Patrick frowns as David chews on his lip and looks away to reach the brush into the corner under some shelves. He looks nervous for some reason, and hope swells in Patrick’s chest as he closes the register and looks around, calculating.

“I might just take you up on that, David.”

David says nothing as he puts the brush away and grabs his coat from the rack.

They make their way to the front of the store and David lingers while Patrick locks up, shivering and stamping his feet all the while.

“So, this is it I guess,” Patrick says softly, as they turn to face each other on the front step. The warm white lights from the store flicker in the background, and Patrick watches the light dance across David’s features with unrepressed awe.

“This is it.”

David doesn’t move, and Patrick doesn’t either, both seeming unwilling to break the moment first. After a moment, David reaches out and pulls at Patrick’s scarf which is hanging loose around his shoulders, tucking it properly into his coat and tying it tighter with deft fingers.

The faint sounds of diners at the café, and the tinkling of music from inside wraps around the pair as they remain there, frozen in this moment of choice.

“Merry Christmas, Patrick,” David says, almost a whisper, his fingers on one hand still buried in the fabric of Patrick’s scarf while the other hand is digging through his pocket for something.

“Hey, David,” Patrick murmurs softly, his eyes hooded from their intimate position. “Looks like we--”

Patrick glances up towards the doorway to the store, where he knows for certain her had nailed the most aesthetically perfect bunch of mistletoe only a week earlier. On looking up however, the mistletoe is gone, and with it, his excuse to finally kiss David.

“Oh,” he says frowning, unable to hide his disappointment and embarrassment as he frowns up at the empty doorway.

“Looking for something?” David asks gently, and when Patrick looks back at his business partner, the frown morphs into surprised delight as he finds David holding up the piece of mistletoe teasingly above their heads.

“Oh,” Patrick says again, staring at the green plant with wonder for just a moment before looking back at David. They’re closer together than he remembers being, and David is smiling softly at him as they drift ever further, meeting in the middle in the most perfect, soft brush of lips.

Patrick’s arms wind themselves around David’s waist, who keeps his grip on Patrick’s scarf with one hand, the other slowly bringing the mistletoe down and holding it in a limp grip to the side.

The reason for their kiss is long forgotten as David retreats for breath, turning his head just slightly and swooping back in, catching Patrick’s lips in another warm kiss, enough to fight off the chill of the night.

His lips are warm and wanting against Patrick’s, exactly as soft as he had imagined they would be but somehow so much more. A slight scratch of stubble forces Patrick to hold in a whimper and he pulls back, shaking his head free of the fog that has settled over him.

“Looks like I made the right choice buying all that mistletoe, huh?” is the only thing Patrick can think to say as they pull away. His face flushes, partly from embarrassment and partly from the feeling of David’s hand burrowing further into his scarf as if seeking warmth and grins up at the man in front of him.

“And this is just the first piece of mistletoe,” David counters, quick as ever. “There’s fifty more where that came from.”

Patrick can’t think of a response, but he doesn’t need to, as David’s eyes are already flickering closed as they lean back in to kiss again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I twisted the prompt a little bit, I hope that's alright!! Let me know what you thought in the comments !! ❄️


End file.
